Paleo Butternut Squash Lasagna with Cashew Cheese

Sometimes I really miss Italian food. It is probably the hardest cuisine to convert to Paleo. I used to gorge myself on fettuccine alfredo. Now I can’t imagine eating such a heavy dish. Since investing in a spiral veggie cutter, I’ve been able to dabble in more Italian paleo friendly dishes with my zucchini noodles. RIght now is the season of squashes, and I am so happy! Spaghetti squash is my favorite pasta replacement, but after making this lasagna butternut squash is making a very serious claim for itself. This dish was crazy good. Now it isn’t exactly like classic lasagna because it isn’t oozing with cheese, but all the other flavors are there!

-I didn’t use the yeast and subbed water for wine, and it tasted great!

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Blend all italian spice seasoning with a mortar and pestle. For the sauce, mix all ingredients together in sauce pan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in olive oil. Using an immersion blender, puree sauce until smooth. You can also put it in a regular blender.

Mix remaining seasoning with ground meat. Heat ghee in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Toss in onions and garlic. Cook until garlic is fragrant. Add in meat and brown.

Cut the bottom of the squash off to sturdy it and peel. Cut the squash where the round part and neck meet. Now cut each of those pieces lengthwise. Remove seeds and stringy bits. Cut squash into 1/2 inch planks.

Time to assemble. Using a 9×9 baking dish, spread a small layer of sauce evenly on the bottom. Lay an even layer of squash planks, doing your best to not overlap. Scoop on a layer of meat. Repeat process until you run out of ingredients, but make sure you save enough sauce to be the final layer! Cook for 40 minutes, remove add the cheese, and cook for another 5 minutes.

[…] I still love Italian food, and I’ve made a few recreations over the years: chicken marsala, lasagna and creamy chicken pasta. One night I was struck with the idea to make chicken parmesan meatballs, […]